MLB DRAFT DFS Picks (DRAFT.com): Thursday, June 28th
Why do you need another DFS site? Because DRAFT combines the excitement of a season-long draft into one set of games!
Welcome to today’s edition of MLB DRAFT DFS Picks from FantasyCPR. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.
I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, you roster one starting pitcher, two infielders, and two outfielders. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 10-man drafts that start upon filling. Also, they have a tournament format, where one contest will span a few days. The further you advance, the more you win. I play mostly the six-man contests for cash games, which payout to the top two spots.
My goal here will be to give you my strategy for drafting today on DRAFT, followed by my top 30 overall rankings. Strategy of course changes day by day, depending on what type of slate we are working with. I always start with my pitcher, as everything else revolves around that. After having completed my rankings for today and done a few six-man drafts, here is how I am attacking this slate.
DRAFT – DFS Overview:
Today we are working with a 10-game full slate starting at 12:10 PM ET. We have quite an early start so I hope you can get some drafts in this morning. There are six afternoon games today, so that will make for a tight 4-game evening slate. I will likely get in a few bright and early, as I am not a huge fan of trying to do six-man contests with just eight pitchers to choose from. Anyways, ten games, a bunch of afternoon action with six games, followed by four in the evening. As always, here is an early look at the weather spots to watch throughout the day.
Weather Watch:
Just one game today that may have a cause for concern with some expected rain. Forecasts in Boston show a stormy afternoon, with rain moving out as early as game time, or as late as after 9:00. Go give this forecast one more look before you head in to the draft rooms this morning. Of course two of the top targets and top players in the game in JD Martinez and Mookie Betts are high on my radar as always, and I am drafting accordingly, as I expect no worse than a late start. If the game were to get postponed, the fact that is supposed to rain all day would hopefully at least get us an early decision, so we can make swaps. Lots of weather risk on DRAFT, seeing as you are locked in as early as you draft. Time to move on to today’s targets!
MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Today’s Top Pitching Targets:
I felt like changing this up a bit so welcome to the new format! It is pretty easy to decipher throughout my rankings what that day’s particular strategy will be, so let’s mix it up a bit. Instead of giving you some basic vanilla strategy, like repeating the fact that the Infield position is usually deep throughout, and the outfield position drops off pretty dramatically usually in terms of “lock” type plays, I will opt to point out the guys I am actually targeting and drafting. I think this will be more helpful in terms of understanding why I have certain players ranked where they are. Similar to the rankings, followed by each target will be their overall ranking of 30 in parenthesis.
Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies – (4)
It is mostly a wait until the mid rounds for a pitcher day, as I am seeing a trend of some top starters going a little later than normal. It seems as though most rank Lance McCullers Jr. and Clayton Kershaw ahead of Nola today. I am not in that court. In my opinion, as far as form and who may be a better pitcher right now, Nola may be ahead of Kershaw. Either way that doesn’t really matter, as both should be top picks today.
Nola has been a better pitcher at home as of late, and he is there tonight facing a Nationals team that he just faced in his last start in DC. He picked up a win in that game, allowing two earned through six and picking up a win. In his last home start however, he was dominant against the Rockies, striking out 10, and putting up almost 20 DP. I have Nola ranked 4th overall, and in fact, all three pitchers mentioned here are ranked top 10 overall for me. If I see a stack or a couple one-off’s I like that I think I can get later, I’ll take one of these three in the 2nd round. If not, and they are all gone in the third, I will likely turn my pitching attention to the last round, and look at this next target.
Sean Manaea – Oakland Athletics – (30)
If you miss on all the pitchers today, and are stuck with that last decision, Manaea could be your guy. Manaea has a low projection of just 7.9, but don’t let that deter you in any way. I have seen Jake Odorizzi, Tanner Roark, and Jose Quintana all drafted over Manaea today, and I can’t help but scratch my head. He has put up double-digit DP in three straight, and gets the benefit of pitching on an extra days rest today, against the light hitting Detroit Tigers lineup. Granted, this team is built to hit lefties, as Nick Castellanos always poses a threat, but I look for Manaea to rack up a few K’s and pick up a win today, to at least get in to those double-digits we need here. Now that you have a quick grasp on the pitchers I am targeting today, let’s check out some bats!
MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – Today’s Top Hitter Targets:
IF – Eric Thames – Milwaukee Brewers – (7)
Milwaukee travels into the friendly hitting confines of Great American Ball Park tonight to face the Reds. It should be humid, and the ball should be travelling awfully well. Thames has been a little slow to pick up where he left off since his return from the DL, but he should be well rested after receiving a day off yesterday as the Brew Crew faced lefty Danny Duffy and the Royals. The Reds will start right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who has actually been decent to this point, compiling a 3-1 record with a 4.09 ERA. This is a prime spot for Thames who should bat leadoff, and I love pairing him with my other Brewer I am targeting, who will get to after we talk about the new current hottest man in baseball.
IF – Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (8)
The Astros head into Tampa Bay for a series against the Rays, and one man who was probably a little sad to leave Canada and Toronto Blue Jays pitching was Bregman. His series was truly remarkable, highlighted by a home run in each game of the series. He went 11-for-14 with the three homers, drove in six, and stole a base. He scored 26 DP in the first game, followed by the 4-for-5 for 36 DP in the second, capped off with a 3-for-5 yesterday. Bregman is an extremely talented hitter who is on fire right now. He is well worth a second round pick today, and can be paired with Jose Altuve shortly after if you get a little lucky.
OF – Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers – (10)
So I promised another Brewer, here he is. Outfield is always thin, but it gets pretty ugly late today due to the reduced schedule. Prior to today, Yelich had homered in two straight games. He went just 1-for-4 yesterday against Duffy, but has a much better match-up today against DeSclafani. I have contemplated taking Yelich and Thames at the first wrap-around because I keep getting the sixth pick, but haven’t quite pulled the trigger yet. I was however, able to grab Thames in the third round a couple times despite his high projection. Just the fact that infield is so deep and outfield is so thin could be a case to take Yelich ahead of Thames as well. Either way, I expect both to rake today.
OF – David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks – (24)
Going back to the well on an outfielder who continues to quietly have a good season. Peralta is batting .281 on the season with 15 home runs, yet has an incredibly low projection of just 7.7 against a Marlins righty named Trevor Richards. If you need a guy at the end in a better spot than some of the other available options, look for Peralta. I recommended him the other day in this spot and drafted him numerous times. He went 3-for-5 with a double, scoring 16 DRAFT points, (DP if your weren’t on to that yet) and led me to numerous cashes.
MLB DRAFT DFS Picks – DFS Today’s Rankings:
My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 30 overall. We will go six deep at pitcher, and twelve deep at IF and OF. Rankings are broken down into positions, and following each players name will be their overall ranking in parenthesis.
Pitchers:
1. Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies – (4)
2. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers – (5)
3. Lance McCullers Jr. – Houston Astros – (9)
4. Jon Gray – Colorado Rockies – (16)
5. Zack Greinke – Arizona Diamondbacks – (18)
6. Sean Manaea – Oakland Athletics – (30)
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Infielders:
1. JD Martinez – Boston Red Sox – (2)
2. Eric Thames – Milwaukee Brewers – (7)
3. Alex Bregman – Houston Astros – (8)
4. Paul Goldschmidt – Arizona Diamondbacks – (13)
5. Jesus Aguilar – Milwaukee Brewers – (14)
6. Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds – (15)
7. Jose Altuve – Houston Astros – (17)
8. Manny Machado – Baltimore Orioles – (21)
9. Nolan Arenado – Colorado Rockies – (22)
10. Eduardo Escobar – Minnesota Twins – (25)
11. Jake Lamb – Arizona Diamondbacks – (26)
12. Khris Davis – Oakland Athletics – (29)
Outfielders:
1. Mookie Betts – Boston Red Sox – (1)
2. Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels – (5)
3. Andrew Benintendi – Boston Red Sox – (6)
4. Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers – (10)
5. Eddie Rosario – Minnesota Twins – (11)
6. Charlie Blackmon – Colorado Rockies – (12)
7. Justin Upton – Los Angeles Angels – (19)
8. Scott Schebler – Cincinnati Reds – (20)
9. Rhys Hoskins – Philadelphia Phillies – (23)
10. David Peralta – Arizona Diamondbacks – (24)
11. Bryce Harper – Washington Nationals – (27)
12. Mitch Haniger – Seattle Mariners – (28)
That is all for today’s MLB Top DRAFT picks on FantasyCPR. If you have any questions regarding any of my rankings, reach out to me on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond. Good luck tonight and happy drafting on DRAFT!